Bed bath & avant garde.
A World Health Organization official says the Omicron variant will infect more than half of Europe in the next two months. / CNN
Hundreds of thousands of students in Los Angeles return to school from winter break. Chicago schools reopen tomorrow. / The Los Angeles Times, ABC7
Related: In case you missed last week's post from a New York City school grappling with Omicron, here's an interview with updates. / Reddit, Slate
Dr. Nahid Bhadelia: We do not exist in a balance with Covid yet. / Twitter
Uganda reopens classrooms after the world's longest pandemic-prompted shutdown—and many students, teachers, and schools won't return. / The New York Times
China locks down a third city for an indefinite period. / The Associated Press
Alex Ross profiles a woman who's keeping a village of 30 people alive in Death Valley. / The New Yorker
Unrelated: A slow drive (with bad music) through redwood trees. / The Morning News
The first transplant of a genetically altered pig heart into a human sparks questions from bioethicists. / STAT
Medieval warhorses were no bigger than modern-day ponies. / The Guardian
A man writes a thank-you note to an IKEA employee for tracking down his child. / Michael McWatters
See also: Learning to like softness as a valuable human trait. / Meditations in an Emergency
For Generation Z, coming of age during Covid, the '80s "represent analog freedom and fun." / Jezebel
As modern and contemporary art has moved away from shock, a potentially very different aesthetic is coming into focus. / 3:AM Magazine
Hillbilly Elegy's J.D. Vance purports to be a "common good" conservative while cosplaying Donald Trump Jr. online. / The Washington Post Magazine
Who said the avant-garde is dead? Dennis Cooper's favorite fiction, poetry, nonfiction, music, film, art, and internet stuff of 2021. / Dennis Cooper
A round-up of several dozen of the best "asks" from 2021 at TMN favorite Ask Metafilter. / Phil Gyford's Website
And now a brief chat with a new Sustaining Member, Alicia R.!
Alicia, you're a Tournament of Books fan, right? I’ve been following the ToB since 2013. I got a friend hooked on the tourney (it’s way more fun that way) and last year we both read all 18 books.
Wow, nice work! Well, I couldn’t finish Tender is the Flesh, but I got us the finisher stickers anyway. I also have a rooster shirt that I wear in hopes someone will recognize what it’s from. No such luck yet, but I’m hopeful!
It'll happen. Well, thank you for becoming a supporter. It really makes a difference. This last year I have been making a concerted effort to give away more money, and since the ToB gives me such enjoyment during a stressful and dreary part of the year (I’m a tax accountant) I realized I was overdue in showing my monetary appreciation. Without the ToB there are so many fantastic books I would not have discovered; The Echo Wife is so far the best surprise this year!
Major thanks to Alicia and to everyone else in the band 🎷. Find out why we ask for your help and consider becoming a Sustaining Member or making a one-time donation today. Thank you!
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Since 1999, your Headlines are sourced and written by Andrew Womack and Rosecrans Baldwin, and arrive in your inbox, Monday through Saturday. View this edition and the latest Headlines at TMN.